Characterization of initial plasma discharges in the CPS-1 experiment

Summary form only given. A coaxial plasma source facility (CPS-1) has been developed at the North Carolina State University to investigate the suitability of magnetized coaxial plasma gun (MCG) technology for use in high-specific-impulse advanced nuclear electric propulsion. The primary research objective of the CPS-1 project is the experimental evaluation of the performance of an MCG source as a plasma thruster. Data describing the discharge characteristics have been obtained from initial experiments in this facility. These data include the plasma gun current and voltage traces for fast pulse operation from a low-inductance, 1.2 mF, 10 kV power delivery system.